Krystal Clear
by TheGirlWithFarTooManyIdeas
Summary: Semi bittersweet fluffy oneshot. Mid HG/SS. Silver is badly injured during a fight with Team Rocket and retreats to an apartment in Goldenrod. Lyra, stubborn as she is, chases after him fueled by worry. When she gets there, she learns some startling things about the cold Pokemon thief. Soulsilver shipping!


**Krystal Clear**

 **Wanda: Hello everyone! Here's a cute little one shot celebrating my favorite rival and favorite Pokemon pairing! (aside from Calem/Serena and Ash/May) This is set just in the middle of the Johto story in Heartgold/Soulsilver. Lyra and Lance just put an end to the Mahogany Rocket Base, though there was a slight difference. Silver also attacked the base, but left after he got injured by an aggressive Rocket's pokemon. Lyra naturally goes after him.**

 **I do not own Pokemon. Enjoy!**

 **In Golden Rod City**

Silver spat blood into the sink, his lungs heaving in a wild attempt to steady his air intake. Red hair sticking to his face from sweat, he couldn't see the mirror, though he didn't have to to know that he was in bad shape.

He would have preferred not to go back to GoldenRod City, but his injuries had demanded attention and this was the first place he could run to. Unless there was a clear blood trail from the wounds, he could easily hide away in one of the city's many apartments until he was able to move again.

Pain flooded all of Silver's senses when the scar on his head acted up again. "Agh!" He cursed, blood dripping into his eyes, temporarily blinding him.

Fumbling for the tap, he knocked the soapdish onto the floor before turning the warm water on. The rushing of the water gave him something to focus on as he tried to drown out the memory of the violent Raticate, and Lyra's worried cries as he vanished into the darkness.

He was having a hard time seeing with blood dripping down the front of his face. His hands felt rough, scraped and brutalized from pebbles and rocks they had been fighting on. Following the sound of the water, he rubbed his hands together under the spray, the scalding taking out the rocks and making his skin hurt. He couldn't afford to let anything get infected.

His head was screaming, not just from the wound – no, Silver was using all of his current mental fortitude (which was slipping away quickly) to shut out the screeches of the birds, to slow his heart down to a normal rate, and to finally stop his hands and knees from shaking.

The world tilted at a dangerous angle, forcing him to grip the sink with both hands.

 _Pathetic. Pathetic! I have to get a hold of myself._

Silver rubbed his face with his wet hands and over his closed eyes. The blood felt sticky and hot, and some of it was his. Revulsion and anger was making him feel sick; he dropped his hands back into the water and lifted them up to drink. If he hadn't, he probably would have thrown up. Spitting up more red tinted water, Silver assessed his injuries.

It had been a while since he had gotten attacked by a Pokemon. Silver had known that if all his Pokemon were compromised, he would be in danger, but he knew how to fight. He had figured he would have been fine...if he hadn't had any distractions.

Silver turned his head at a crunching noise. Just through the blurriness of the water and diluted blood, he could see his Golbat had settled on the edge of the sink, staring up at him with wide eyes. It looked worried. Silver glared at the Pokemon, the last thing he needed was for his Pokemon to think he was weak as well.

"I'll be fine," He said shortly. He kicked the bag towards the large bat. "There are potions in there. See to it that you and Feraligatr are ready to leave as soon as I'm ready."

The Golbat screeched. Even with the speech barrier between humans and Pokemon, the redhead knew the poison bat was worried.

"I said I'll be fine," Silver snapped, "Move it or I'll leave you behind."

The Golbat lowered its head and took the bag, reluctantly flapping off. The Pokemon was almost as soft as Lyra.

 _Silver!_

Silver cursed again as his hand hit an iron bar grabbing for a towel, striking one of its many bruises from the struggle with Proton. Damn that girl for invading his thoughts constantly. Why couldn't he just defeat her, if only so he could forget about her and move on?

Why had he felt compelled to go back and help her in that tower?

Taking another handful of water, Silver immediately poured it over his head, rinsing out some of the dirt and causing a thrill of pain that identified exactly where his head wound was. Seething, he wound up the towel and pressed it against his temple, just above his hairline.

 _That was where they hit me the first time, too_.

Silver sat down on the chair heavily; the worthless thing nearly screeched in protest. He drowned out the pain, thinking about what he was doing, the scar wasn't that shallow, and he would never let anything get between him and his vengeance on Team Rocket. He'd gotten hurt before. It hadn't stopped him then either.

Of course, this wasn't like those times...it was like that time. His worst memory...

The bird Pokemon's cries were still ringing in his ear as though the cursed beast was right outside the building windows, still trying to get at him.

Unzipping the bag with his bruised and dirty fingers, Silver retrieved the meagre human medical supplies he had taken from the last Pokemon Centre he had visited.

Pokemon medicine was easy enough to come by, but human medicine less so, especially after the Rocket incursions that caused as much damage as they had.

Silver took a cloth, nearly ripping it in his anger. As usual, just the thought of Team Rocket riled him up. The cowards resorted to destroying medicine when they realized they were loosing, not even considering what was going to happen to them when the stocks ran out.

 _It's amazing those idiots remember how to breathe._

Putting his free hand and the cloth under the water, Silver bit his tongue when the pain on his forehead got worse.

 _Damn it. Damn it all._ It was hard to tell if there was any part of his body that wasn't hurting, and which of it was from actual injuries then stress caused by his own cowardice.

The fact he hadn't conquered this yet burned Silver, even more in that Lyra had seen him struggling with this.

Had seen him _weak_.

Silver's lip curled into an angry snarl as he lifted the towel from his head. It was stained thickly with blood; the cut was deeper then he had guessed at first.

The last thing, the very last thing he would have wanted was for that soft, gentle, ridiculous girl see him struggle with a damned Skarmory. He had sworn that he would be stronger then her, stronger then any other trainer alive and that was how he was going to prove it? Damn Odairu for taking so long to get up after the battle!

Tugging at the edge of his dirty and mudslicked shirt, Silver slowly pulled the fabric off over his head, dropping it on the floor as he caught sight of his reflection.

 _The Skarmory and Fearow had been violent. Giovanni had abandoned his son west of Viridian city, out near the dark grass and the Pokemon League gate. Either in his despair he had neglected to remember Silver had no Pokemon, or he had been to cold hearted to care. Either way, when Silver stumbled back towards the city, he had been set upon by angry birds who mistook him for an intruder. They had pecked and scratched him, attempting to carry him off before he was rescued by the Rangers...he had nearly died that day..._

"Silver!"

The memory dissolved when Silver realized he wasn't imagining her voice. It was coming, quite loudly, from the stairwell, followed by Lyra's distinctive footsteps.

 _She followed me?!_

Silver pushed himself to his feet just as the stubborn girl started pounding on the door.

"Silver, I know you're in there! Let me in!"

"Go away!" Silver yelled back, picking up his shirt. He felt a sudden stab of panic – for some reason, the idea of Lyra seeing him so _broken_ was too much to bear.

What was she doing here? She had defeated Team Rocket and the gym here, she had no reason to stick around.

Unless...

Of course. Lyra had this inexplicable urge, no matter where she was or what was going on, to help everyone around her. She had come here looking for him...because he was injured...

Silver felt his heart twinge very much without his permission, and he fought to squash the feeling. _Lyra, just listen to me for once!_

"I'm not going anywhere!" Lyra retorted from the other side of the door, still hammering on it like a madwoman. For the thousandth time, Silver took a moment to think about how much he hated the girl's inexplicable stubborn streak – she had the tenacity of a Tauros. "You're hurt!"

"You stupid girl! I can take care of myself!" Silver snapped back.

There was a short pause when Lyra stopped knocking.

Silver hardly had enough time to think that it was too easy before the door was blasted off its hinges, revealing Lyra, her Quilava and an Espeon. Silver figured the second one was a new acquisition; she hadn't had it the last time they'd fought. Lyra was breathless and dishevelled, looking rather like she had run for miles.

Her eyes grew wide as dinner plates when she saw him, half naked, old scars exposed.

Silver felt oddly frozen, as opposed to as furious as he had expected to be.

 _She ran after me...she came after me._

"Oh, Arceus." Lyra whispered, staring at his chest.

Anger mixed with burning shame brought Silver out of his stupor. "I told you I didn't need help." He said flatly. "Leave, Lyra."

"Says the guy bleeding everywhere!" Lyra said spiritedly, pointing at the bloody towel and sink. "Silver, I have medicine. Let me help you!"

" _Don't make me hold you down,"_ The voice was feminine and sounded inside his head, much like the last psychic type he had crossed paths with. Silver's glare swivelled to the Espeon by Lyra's side, who's tail was twitching as if to make good on her threat.

" _Lyra's right to be worried about you. Do you know how much blood you've lost? Males and their pride...you could die without her help."_ The Espeon scolded him, apparently unaffected by the glare that usually had Feraligatr sitting up straight and waiting for instructions.

"I can handle it," Silver retorted, turning around. Lyra gave a muffled sob, and the burning feeling in his heart grow worse.

"Why didn't you tell me you got injured before!" Lyra exclaimed, walking up to him. Silver thought about using the bar to knock her out, but he doubted he could get past the Quilava and Espeon with his own Pokemon still recovering. _Wake up, you idiots!_

And though he tired not to think about it...

For some reason, he didn't feel comfortable with the idea unlike with that boy, Ethan. In fact, he didn't think he could hit her at all.

"You're so stubborn!" Lyra said in frustration, throwing her arms in the air. "So much for being able to lean on your friends!"

"I don't trust anyone!"

The words came out of Silver's mouth automatically, entirely on autopilot.

His mind was reeling, and not entirely from the dizziness brought out by lack of blood. _Friends? Friends? Is that what she considers me?_

 _A friend is someone who cares about you. I've never had friends; its been me verses the world. Why would Lyra care about me?_

 _She must by lying – except – why would she do that? Try to get me to drop my guard? Except...what could she gain from that? I'm already defenceless, and she has at least two fully battle ready Pokemon with her, one of which is a rare and powerful type._

 _Besides, that's not what Lyra is like...she's too gentle and kind._

It took Silver a moment from his whirling thoughts to realize that it was quiet in the room. He glanced over his shoulder.

Lyra looked oddly rigid...her eyes were watering. Suddenly that odd panicked feeling came rushing back with a vengeance; was she going to start crying?

Silver had never seen her cry, not even when he saw her after she lost a battle against that brat who ran the Goldenrod gym, or when she had encountered Team Rocket, or come across the mutilated Slowpoke.

She had been distressed, let down, and angry...but she hadn't cried.

"I'm sorry," Lyra said softly. "I know you're capable, Silver...but I'm worried about you...and I thought that..." She gulped, forcing down tears. "I guess I thought that, after we fought together at the Burned Tower..."

After all that, she was going to cry...because he didn't _trust_ her?

Silver could hardly believe what he was hearing. Since when did anything he did matter to anyone? Stealing didn't count, and neither did taking out Team Rocket...he didn't care what those people thought about him...it was important to his goal...

But since when had his _friendship_ meant anything to anyone? His father had thought him worth nothing because he couldn't keep his power...power was the only thing that mattered...

But Lyra didn't care about power...no, she cared about whether or not he _trusted_ her.

And the thought that he didn't was bringing her to honest-to-Latais- _tears_.

Why did that fill him with this confusion and pain? Maybe that was just his head... but then why was his chest constricting when she started to choke holding her feelings back?

"It's got nothing to do with you," Silver said abruptly.

He turned around again, looking directly at her, hoping that he was expressionless. Her two Pokemon were sitting down and staring back at him. A shiver went down Silver's spine; he had a feeling that the Espeon was trying to deduce how he had been hurt.

"I've lived this way for a long time, as long as I've been out on my own. I've always been alone. It's the way I protect myself." Silver told her, crossing his arms. He was beginning to feel chilly; the broken window was letting the early autumn air in.

Lyra looked at him for a moment before walking up to him. Silver stared and took a startled step backwards when she stopped in front of him.

"I...I understand that, Silver, I really do..." She said quietly. "But you don't have to be alone anymore. Don't you understand? You have your Pokemon...and me...we're here to help you..."

Silver acted on instinct when she reached for the scar on his head, catching her wrist before she touched him. Her hand was soft and warm. His heart was pounding; _what is_ wrong _with me_?

"Silver, please." Lyra begged. "You've lost so much blood. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Why does it matter to you what happens to me?" Silver demanded, his voice wavering as his body's weakness started to catch up to him.

Lyra stared back at him with those wide, Eevee-like green eyes. "Because I want to be your friend."

Silver's wrist started to shake. He tried to say something but it came out as a wordless noise.

He stared at the girl in front of him blankly, disbelief overriding anything else he was feeling. The words were so simple, deceptively simple, but they had rocked his entire world, leaving him scrambling for something to steady himself with.

"When I saw you outside Professor Elm's lab, when we battled the first time...you were angry and determined...but you had such sad eyes..." Lyra whispered. "I didn't understand it...but I knew right away you weren't stealing Totodile because you were evil or selfish, or to enable bad things you wanted to do. I just knew you were the sad, and angry, and there was something you needed to do."

Silver stared at her. _How...how could she tell?_

Lyra shook her head. "I didn't tell the police what you looked like...I...I wanted to help you."

She lowered her hand slightly, twisting slightly in his grip until she was holding his hand. Silver, completely frozen, did not wrench it away like he had the last time. "I don't know if someone hurt you, Silver...or why you feel like you have to do this alone."

Her grip on his hand tightened, and her wrist started to shake with the sheer force of her emotions. "But I'm going to be here for you...even if you keep trying to chase me away...because I can't leave you like this!"

Lyra looked determinedly at him, green eyes watering and threatening to wash over with tears again. "So stop telling me to go away...because I won't! I won't be like whoever drove you to this...I won't leave you alone again!"

Silence hung in the air for a long moment. Silver, finding himself still struck silent, heart pounding, swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

The pain in his head doubled from what he had heard, causing him to groan and lower his head.

Lyra gasped, and she closed the distance between them, letting him lean on her.

"Elaina, Rachel, go check on Feraligatr and his friends. Then bring me the medicine bag," Lyra said quietly. There was a noise of affirmation before the two Pokemon scampered back into the apartment's living room.

"Silver, let me help you." Lyra repeated quietly, sliding an arm around the boy's back and leading him back towards the bedroom.

It wasn't very big, which made her think that he had scammed the place, but she found she didn't care right now. If there was a problem, she'd pay it off; it wasn't as though she was short on money after defeating Chuck and Jasmine. There was one bed, big enough for two people, and it looked comfortable enough.

"Lie down," She instructed. Silver made a quiet mumble of affirmation and collapsed back against the pillow. Relieved he had stopped struggling, and was hopefully considering what she had told him, Lyra looked back towards the bathroom.

Rachel scampered into the room a moment later, the kit floating in her psychic grip. "Thank you Rachel," Lyra whispered.

She opened the kit and dug through it for the reconstructive bottle. Carefully, she began to apply medicine to his head wound, carefully brushing through his red hair to reach it.

Silver hissed whenever she tugged to hard. "I'm sorry," Lyra whispered.

Silver closed his eyes tightly. "You 'pologize too damn much," He muttered. Lyra couldn't help but smile.

"You're going to be fine," She whispered.

Gently she finished her task. The head wound would heal now, so she let her hand slide down to his chest. Lyra felt tears pricking at the edges of her eyes. There were so many scars on his chest and back, all having been there for some time. It looked so painful.

"What happened to you?" She asked softly, lowering her hand to his flat stomach. When was the last time he had eaten?

Silver turned his head to the right, looking away from her, his shoulders tense. Lyra dug around for painkillers and grabbed a nearby glass.

"Sit up, these will make the pain go away." She wrapped her arm around him and helped him straighten up long enough to take the pills. "they might make you feel a little funny now, but if you rest for a little, you'll get better."

Silver collapsed back on the bed, breathing deeply and steadily. Lyra managed a slight smile, and looked down at him. His red hair was splayed across the pillow, and despite how pale he was, despite the scars on his body...

Lyra thought Silver was achingly beautiful.

Blood rushed to her cheeks as she thought of that, and she was just moving to get up when suddenly Silver grabbed her hand.

"You're leaving now?" He asked, voice soft and oddly vulnerable.

The meds seemed to be kicking in quickly, she realized approvingly.

"Not if you don't want me to." Lyra responded. Silver didn't say anything, but he didn't let go of her hand. Lyra felt warm inside and her heart began thudding quickly.

 _You're not alone anymore. I promise, I'll take care of you...I'm here for you...just let me in._

 **End**

 **Aww...that's always how I imagine Lyra, personally. Gentle, energetic, kind of girly, but possessing a spine of steel and massive determination. She's great to heal the scars left on Silver by his father, and warm his icy heart.**

 **Read and Review for similar oneshots!**


End file.
